True Visored
by Aoi Shinkaze
Summary: What if Ichigo acted more like a true Visored, ruthless, and going straight for the kill? Just how powerful would he become? Starts around Chapter 280.
1. In Which a Kitty Gets What's Coming

Yes, yes, I'm starting yet another story.

No, I don't know when this one will be finished, if ever.

Anyways, I hope this is slightly original, and that I don't make Ichigo too strong, but well, you'll see what I mean.

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu'

'**Hollowfied Ichigo'**

{Winter War}

[Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Ichigo stared down at Grimmjow as his foe hunched over his drawn blade. The Visored raised his zanpakuto into a ready position, but then a thought flashed across his mind.

'It is a good idea Ichigo. We cannot afford to be nice in a war, even at the cost of some of your honor. And your enemies will hardly expect it, given your extremely honorable actions in the past.'

'_Kill 'em.'_

The exchange took less than a second, and within moments, Ichigo was in front of Grimmjow, who had started to initiate his Resurrección.

Ichigo charged a Getsuga Tensho dispassionately as he watched the blade in Grimmjow's hand glow blue before the Arrancar forcefully dragged his fingers down the blade.

"Kishire! Pantera!" In the instant Grimmjow released his Resurrección, Ichigo jabbed forward with Tensa Zangetsu, piercing his enemy through the heart. As Grimmjow's eyes widened from the attack, Ichigo released the Getsuga Tensho, slicing Grimmjow into two pieces.

Thankfully for Grimmjow, the Resurrección process had gone on too far to be stopped, and completed with a boom. The blast of energy threw Ichigo backwards, and he crashed into a sand dune. When he looked up, Grimmjow had completed his transformation, turning far more sleek, with longer hair that looked like a mane, armor covering most of his body, wicked looking claws, and a tail.

Unfortunately for Grimmjow, though he was healed from his injuries gained from Ichigo's attack, it had consumed all of his reiatsu to do so, and now he was frozen from a combination of shock and lack of energy.

Ichigo instantly dashed forwards towards Grimmjow, another Getsuga Tensho humming around his blade, which was quickly buried in the feline Arrancar's form. Grimmjow's eyes widened again as he gazed into the cold, unforgiving eyes of his opponent, and a single word fell from his lips as he was neatly bisected by the released Getsuga Tensho, "Coward…"

The two halves of the late Sexta Espada fell to either side of where he had once stood. Ichigo quickly fired off the strongest Getsuga Tensho he could make, making it fly to the side into a pillar, the resulting explosion sufficiently distracting Orihime and Nel.

Then the teen turned back towards Grimmjow's corpse halves, and opened his mouth, mask opening with his real mouth. Then he _breathed_ in, absorbing Grimmjow's body, and all of his reiatsu.

Now it was Ichigo's turn to have his eyes fly open as a huge pillar of energy burst from him as he assimilated Grimmjow's energy. Ichigo fell to his knees as he felt his reiatsu levels and strength level rise, his mask shattering from the influx of power.

[End Chapter]

Well, I think that's good for a start. Basically, the idea was for Ichigo to stop pussyfooting around and just move to kill, instantly. And one thing that always pissed me off was that all the characters just friggin' stood there when their foe powered up. I mean, I know I know, honor and all that crap, but seriously, you would think more characters would do what Soi Fon did and just stab their opponent mid-transformation. The reason I had Grimmjow power-up anyways is so that his power level is even high, giving Ichigo even greater strength. I kinda already have a sequel plotted out, but ah well, we shall see.


	2. In Which A Maniac Is Found

Hah, time for a new chapter?

An, one of my reviewers has asked, and I'm sure many of my readers are wondering, but what _is_ Ichigo's power level? Wouldn't be much fun if I flat out said it, now would it?

In canon, Ichigo was more powerful than Grimmjow, since, even when exhausted, he cut through Grimmjow's best attack with ease.

And now, Ichigo has _eaten_ Grimmjow at full power, making him even more powerful!

But I digress. Guess where his power level is now.

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu'

'**Hollowfied Ichigo'**

[Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Ichigo panted as he kneeled on the sandy ground of Hueco Mundo, and held a mental conversation with the inner representations of his power.

'How much…more powerful…are we?'

'Even before killing Grimmjow and eating him, we were powerful enough to kill him. Now? Now we would have to see Espada with higher ranks to judge ourselves accurately.'

'_Che, Ulquiorra should be scared of us now. We ain't as strong as him, yet, but we're close.'_

'Good to know, thanks guys.'

Ichigo slowly recovered, and rose to his feet, when suddenly, his danger sense blared and he shunpoed to the side. When he looked back after hearing a dull thud, he saw a tall, spindly Arrancar pulling a massive, oddly shaped (but no doubt effective) weapon out of the crater it had formed.

"Scared, Shinigami?" Whoever it was sneered at him, and Ichigo gave him a blank look, then started to swing Tensa Zangetsu above his head, discreetly charging a Getsuga Tensho in the meantime.

Ichigo replied in a bland tone, "No."

"Then why run?"

"I'm neither scared nor stupid; I'm not going to test my blocking skills when I'm at less than half power." This was a blatant lie, as Ichigo was, after eating Grimmjow, not only at full power, but beyond it, with enough excess reiatsu that he was hoping an enemy would come by so he could put a few holes in 'em. But Ichigo lied for a reason, and that was to see the reaction of the Espada, for surely an Arrancar with a level of reiatsu greater than Yammy would have to be. In fact, his reiatsu felt higher than Grimmjow's, but lower than Ulquiorras's. Meaning he was most likely the 5th Espada. Which was great, as he could now judge his abilities, and see if they were on par with Ulquiorra or not.

"Hmpf, I'll put you out of your misery quickly then." And with a mad cackle, the Espada lunged at Ichigo, but suddenly stopped. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm the Quinta Espada, Nnoitra Gilga." And then he resumed his mad charge, or would've had there not been a zanpakuto sailing at him. Nnoitra sneered, and made to bat it away. "Your weapon won't cut me; I have the strongest hierro of the Espada."

"Doubtful." Nnoitra spun as the image of the sword he had oh so contemptuously flicked away flickered, and dissipated. He then made an odd gurgling noise in shock and surprise at the zanpakuto buried in his throat. "Die, Quinta Espada." These were the last words that Nnoitra would ever hear.

Or maybe not. With his dying breath, he flung the sword from his neck, and lifted his own blade, and uttered a single phrase at a whisper. "_Pray_, Santa Teresa."

And Ichigo was flung back by the force of the explosion of energy, and when he looked up from a semi-collapsed sand dune, 'This is becoming repetitive', he saw a form hunched over his the smoke, too obscured to see anything other than what appeared to be four arms, with large pointy things clutched in their hands, and an eerie grin, visible through the smoke.

Wait no, that was a Cero charging up-

[End Chapter]

An absolutely evil cliffy, I know, but at least I didn't leave you hanging as far as the battle went. It's gonna escalate, and do so _fast_.


	3. In Which A Maniac Dies

Well, it's almost about time for me to return to my home, but not yet.

New chapter as a New Year present?

Yes?

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu'

"**Hollowfied Ichigo"**

[Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Ichigo dashed to the side as Nnoitra's cero carved a trench into the sand where he stood mere seconds before. Even after dodging, Ichigo continued to run, simultaneously pulling on his mask.

'_Ichigo, you're stronger than him, KILL HIM NOW!' _Zangetsu and Ichigo's Inner Hollow screamed at him in an eerie duet.

Ichigo roared at Nnoitra, wheeling around to face the Arrancar who charged the Vizard, shrieking his own challenge along the way. Ichigo charged a Getsuga Tensho even as Nnoitra brought all four of his arms to bear. They clashed with a boom, cratering the ground underneath their feet. Ichigo unleashed his attack a split second after the five swords clashed, shattering Nnoitra's weapons and cutting him slightly.

Nnoitra began to scream, "No! No! I have the strongest Hierro of all the Espada! You cannot cut me!"

"**Shut up. Your screaming is hurting my ears."** Ichigo's cold voice stopped Nnoitra's screaming, who stared blankly at the Vizard. "You…you….YOU!" Nnoitra shrieked again, flying at Ichigo with the clear intent to slice him to miniscule bits.

What followed was a rather odd ballet, accompanied by incredibly bloodthirsty moves. At some point, Ichigo wasn't sure when, Nnoitra had managed to sprout two more arms, which made dodging rather harder. Eventually Ichigo tired of dodging and leapt into the air, while keeping the crazed Espada from following by firing small, wordless Getsuga Tenshos at him in rapid succession.

Then Ichigo concentrated, and simply _moved_, disappearing in the spot he occupied and reappearing behind Nnoitra, blade lodged firmly in the Arrancar's head. Blood dribbled out of Nnoitra's mouth as his jaw widened, and he he had barely enough time to mutter "What?" Before Ichigo's hastily charged Getsuga Tensho cleaved his head and thus his vocal cords in half.

[End Chapter]

Now, well, obv Ichigo's gonna eat him, but who do you think he'll take on next?

Th-th-th-that's all for now folks!


	4. Ichigo vs Harribel Part 1

Gah, alright, alright, longer chapters. Okay, fine.

Here ya go.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu'

"**Hollowfied Ichigo"**

[Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Nnoitra's body fell to the ground with a slight thump. Ichigo stared down at it, feeling absolutely no remorse for killing him so brutally. 'It really was either him or me.'

'It's alright Ichigo; neither of us hates you for this. Even though you are an honorable warrior, and you have your pride, sometimes, you have to remember what's truly important, your vow to always protect your friends. What is pride compared to that?'

'_Yeah King, don't go all mopey on us, you still need ta track down Ulqi, and there's the other three Espada ta think about. None of your friends are strong enough to pose even a remote challenge to Ulqi, let alone the other stronger ones.'_

'Aa. Got it. One Espada-sized meal comin' up!'

Ichigo opened his jaw, mask following by default, and began to inhale, instinctively eating Nnoitra's corpse. Once Nnoitra's whole body disappeared, Ichigo gulped once, then tore off his mask and reverted to Shikai as he fell to his knees, reiatsu flowing off of his body like steam. A _whump_ noise, followed by the sand under his knees compacting into sandstone preceded a blast of reiatsu blasting off of him as Ichigo _felt_ his powers increase.

'Get Orihime to heal you. You're still tired out from those high-level fights just now. And you're not used to the even higher speed you have now yet. I'm not sure, but you might have picked up some powers from Grimmjow and Nnoitra. You should see if you feel anything different after you hollowify.'

'Gotcha Old Man.' Ichigo flashed towards where he had last seen Orihime and Nel, not bothering to sheath his zanpakuto. Upon arriving, he noticed first the great orange shield, and then a bright red bolt of energy streaking at him.

"Orihime! Wait! It's me, Ichigo!" Ichigo desperately tried to avoid the bolt, but his speed was drastically reduced in Shikai, leading him to acquire minor scratches and cuts as he barely slid by the passes of Orihime's attack.

"Prove it!" Orihime's face appeared behind the shield, with Nel cowering behind her. "Ichigo wasn't this strong when he disappeared, prove you're him!"

'I get stronger and they think I'm an enemy, what?'

'Remember Ichigo, you didn't just eat any ordinary Hollow, you ate Espada, in their resurrections to boot. And Orihime doesn't have much experience with your Hollowfied form, so this must seem close.'

'What? You mean my reiatsu is more hollow-like now?'

'_Yeah King, didn't you notice? And find a way to convince her, fast, we're running out of energy. And don't unleash your Bankai, she might just think you're replacing your resurrection command with that phrase, your reiatsu is waay too hollow-like in Bankai.'_

'Gah, what would- oh! I know!'

Ichigo turned his thoughts outwards and faced Orihime as much as he could with the annoying fairy still making runs at him. Ichigo realized that his inner conversation hadn't come without its drawbacks, he had much deeper wounds littered all over his body due to his mild inattention. 'Crap.'

"Oi! Orihime! Your brother turned into a hollow and purified himself with my blade!" Orihime's hands dropped as her face showed blank shock, it was obvious that she was merely trying to hold off an Espada-level attacker until help could arrive. Then her face turned horrified as she took in Ichigo's haggard appearance, blood running from multiple wounds as he collapsed to the sand.

"Ichigo! I'm so so so so so so so so sorry! I can't believe I did that!"

Ichigo's muffled voice spoke from the ground. "Orihime, that's exactly what I'd want you to do against an Espada. Though, if you could, make that shield round, a normal Espada would just Sonido to your unprotected back. Now please stop apologizing and heal me."

"R-right!" Orihime instantly began healing Ichigo, trying to staunch the bloodflow and heal the cut up teen as Ichigo held his hand to one of his more serious wounds. Ichigo closed his eyes as he could feel Orihime's healing begin to take effect, helping his own far more formidable reiatsu heal itself and his body. After a small while, the last of Ichigo's injuries sealed up, and he sat up and stretched.

"Ah! That feels good. Thanks Orihime!" Ichigo directed one of his happy scowls (his friends had long mastered the ability to tell the difference in his scowls) at the blushing girl and stood up. "Man that feels good!" Ichigo leapt up into the air and called down at Orihime, "Um, don't be scared if my reiatsu feels weird, more insane stuff has happened to it. Also, you and Nel should probably find cover, an Espada is approaching!" Orihime nodded with a serious look on her face and picked up Nel, then started running towards one of the massive pillars that dotted the landscape, and away from what would shortly become a warzone. She stumbled however as she heard a distant cry of, "BANKAI!" and a wave of dense reiatsu nearly flattened her. Orihime's face changed to one of horror as she felt the extremely deadly hollow undertones to Ichigo's normally comforting spirit energy. She looked back and blanched as she saw four Arrancar surrounding Ichigo, three who felt equal to Rukia or Chad, and the third who felt equal to Ichigo. She knew that she wouldn't stand a hair of a chance against those four and ran faster, hoping to meet up with another of their group.

Ichigo stared grimly at the four Arrancar facing him as he felt Orihime's reiatsu become fainter and fainter. He knew he could crush the three closer to him with ease, even if they faced him at once and resurrected. He wouldn't even need to hollowify for that. But the one who stood farther back, she was the real threat. She was as strong as him, and he didn't know if his masked form would be able to keep up with her resurrection form. Hopefully they'd all just go away, and not bother him. Right, cuz when had that ever happened?

"Are you lot going to just stand there or what?" In response to his question, a whispered "Now." From the strongest had the three in front of him charging Ceros. Suddenly Ichigo felt a twinge, and grinned evilly at the trio of glowing attacks. He watched as the weaker, probably Fraccion girls fired their Ceros, and the triple blast engulfed him. Ichigo heard his Inner Hollow laughing its ass off inside his mind as he relished the power that he had received from Nnoitra: Enhanced reiatsu armor, active even without his mask.

Ichigo hid inside of the smoke, hearing the three girls exclaim at how easily he had died and the Espada admonish them for not using their senses to verify that and it was already too late. The three weaker Numeros's heads went flying as he cut through them with ease. The Espada's skin tone visibly darkened as her eyes lit with fury. Ichigo realized in a split second that yes, they were her Fraccion and no, this was not going to be an easy fight.

The Espada withdrew her blade from its sheath on her back and pointed it at Ichigo while calmly proclaiming, "I am the Tres Espada, Tia Harribel. You lost against the Cuarta Espada, you will die to Me.", and with that happy statement, she immediately launched her attack, "Ola Azul!" A blast of super-fast water sped at Ichigo, but Ichigo was no longer there. He could see that attack from a mile off, and he wasn't impressed. Nnoitra's resurrection had been faster than that attack, and he had slid around the Quinta Espada's defenses like they weren't even there. Ichigo began to simply walk closer to the ticked off Arrancar, disappearing whenever a blast of water got too close, and making the Espada even angrier with each attack dodged.

Ichigo was glad that he had this ace, for if he outclassed her attack speed like this while neither had used their final power-up, then he would retain said ace if they powered up. He continued to walk calmly towards the Espada, but the instant he got within ten feet, she jumped back. Unfortunately, Ichigo had anticipated it, and happily found that he was faster than her, period. Her slightly relaxed face instantly tightened again once she saw that the distance between them hadn't decreased a whit.

[End Chapter]

And I'll leave you with that evil, evil cliffy.

I think this chapter's length makes up for the previous one? Yes? No? Meh.

Harribel and Ichigo's battle will escalate next chapter.

Review!


	5. Ichigo vs Harribel Part 2

Well. I felt like it.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu/Tensa Zangetsu'

"**Hollowfied Ichigo"**

[Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

The Tres Espada screamed as she launched herself at Ichigo, haphazardly slashing her sword from side to side. Ichigo flashed away every time she got too close, in the end acting as if he was merely toying with her. The Arrancar's face got steadily darker and darker with rage the more Ichigo evaded her. Finally, she cracked and began using Sonido to try and catch Ichigo. Thankfully for the Vizard, he was still ever so slightly faster than Harribel, letting him continue to dance just out of her reach.

Ichigo was glad that she was so out of control, because a calm enemy is one capable of making rational moves, and Ichigo definitely wanted to keep this one off balance as much as possible. He began to charge a Getsuga Tensho as secretly as possible, which was made much easier then it would have been due to Harribel firing off her blade-like attacks, screaming the name of the attack each time.

"OLA AZUL!" Ichigo continued to dodge and charge, and then finally, tiring of the game of mouse and cat, he flashed behind the Espada and unleashed the attack at point-blank range, cutting a huge gash into her back. She screamed as she plummeted and lost altitude, then turned around to face Ichigo, whose eyes widened as she charged and fired a massive Cero.

'Shit.' Ichigo charged and fired a wordless Getsuga Tensho to reduce the effectiveness of the Cero, then was blown back by the shockwave. It appeared that Harribel had been so unbalanced that her Cero hadn't been much better, detonating when the Getsuga Tensho hit it. Thankfully that meant that Ichigo was only hit by a shockwave, and not much else.

He blinked as Harribel's even more enraged face wove into view as she raised her sword and screamed, "Destroy! Tiburón!" A massive explosion of energy erupted from the Espada's figure, sending a pillar of yellow reiatsu rocketing into the false sky, which promptly cracked under the pressure.

'Crap.'

'_No kidding.'_

'Hollowify Ichigo. You won't stand a chance otherwise. Especially if that clears her head.'

When a huge heart-shaped cocoon around Harribel formed and was cloven in half, Ichigo got a new look at the Tres. She was even more distracting now, but no time for that. Ichigo swiftly pulled on his mask, Hollowification was the only path to victory now.

'Oi, psycho-me, can I use any of Grimmjow's powers, or have you not sorted through that mess yet?'

'_Gimme a bit King. Nah, I'm still separating kitty and whacko's memories and powers.'_

"**Damn."** Ichigo's Hollowfied eyes glared at the Tres Espada, whose eyes had gone from an insane rage to a cold fury. **"Are you gonna come at me, or am I gonna hafta start this dance?"** Ichigo sneered at the Arrancar.

"La Gota!" A huge amount of water surrounded the funky looking weapon around Harribel's hand, and shot towards Ichigo, whose eyes widened at the speed increase. 'Still not fast enough though.' Ichigo Shunpoed away just as the water got close, and started spinning Tensa Zangetsu by the chain, charging a Getsuga Tensho. **"Missed me."**

'I doubt taunting her will do much good Ichigo, she has snapped out of her rage-induced insanity, she won't take the bait. Kill her as quickly as you can.'

'I know. One shark fillet coming right up!'

"**Oi, Espada, ready to die yet?"**

"Not until I kill you for killing my Fraccion."

"**So they **_**were**_** your subordinates."**

"Die, Shinigami scum. Cascada!" An even more massive wall of water rushed at Ichigo, who suddenly grinned and raised his zanpakuto, which had suddenly grown a dozen spikes along the blunt edge. Flicking the sharp edge, drawing blood in the process, one of the projectiles launched itself at extreme speed, glowing ominously black along the way. Ichigo watched happily as the spike smashed the wall to smithereens, blowing up in the process.

Ichigo enjoyed the blank look of shock on the Espada's face as he calmly destroyed one of her no doubt stronger attacks. As her face darkened again, he thanked his Inner Hollow and Tensa Zangetsu for instantly implementing the special attacks his Inner Hollow had found in Grimmjow's memories. The missile-like thingies were pretty damn useful. Especially if they could crush an attack by an upper-level Espada. Ichigo grinned at Harribel, then lifted his sword and pointed it at her, who copied his movement and began charging another of her wide-ranging Ceros. Ichigo stayed calm and charged his own, but grinned as the blood he had let drip down the blade combined with the Cero, turning it from a reddish black to a deep purple. The Gran Rey Cero, Vizard style.

"CERO!" "**GRAN REY CERO!"** The twin voices called out their respective attacks while Ichigo's eyes glinted madly and Harribel's eyes widened in shock, dismay and surprise. They watched as Harribel's own Cero was completely overtaken by Ichigo's, and then the Gran Rey Cero continued its path straight for the Espada, who desperately tried to outrun it, and in her panic forgot to use Sonido and was swallowed by the blast.

When the smoke cleared, Harribel's burned and wheezing form became visible, before her eyes snapped open and she instantly began charging her own Gran Rey Cero, slashing her hand on the edge of her shark tooth like weapon. Ichigo fired two more of his darts, which smashed through the still forming Gran Rey Cero, causing it to back fire, and pierced Harribel, punching twin holes straight through her torso. Ichigo watched as the Tres Espada's eyes dulled, and her lifeless body fell to the ground.

Ichigo grinned as he ripped off his mask and reverted to Shikai and begun to descend to the sand.

'Well fought, Ichigo.'

'_Ooooh eat her too! I want more powers!'_

'Shut up psycho-me.'

As Ichigo landed, he flashed to the three un-introduced Arrancars he had killed in a second to keep them from distracting him from his fight with Harribel. The teen pulled on his mask briefly and opened his mouth and calmly ate the trio, actually getting a chance to relish the taste. His robes fluttered as he felt an ever so slight increase in his powers, but not enough to make much of a difference.

The Vizard walked over to the burnt and lifeless corpse of the Tres Espada. He had personally killed 3 of the Espada, as well as three Fraccion, meaning that with Rukia's kill, they had brought the total down from 10 to 6. Hopefully Renji, Ishida and Chad had managed to kill some others. Ichigo opened his mouth once more, and ate the fallen Espada. Eating this one took longer than eating the others, probably because of her greater power. After a few minutes, Ichigo let out a little burp as he finished inhaling the Espada. He then turned around and started walking in the direction Orihime had run in, hoping to get to her.

As Ichigo walked, his mask fragmented and dissipated. He sheathed his massive cleaver on his back before immediately taking it out again to block a strike from an Espada. Ichigo snarled, "You!"

[Elsewhere]

Byakuya Kuchiki sheathed his blade. It was a disappointing battle, the Espada barely powerful enough to present a challenge. Were it not for Rukia and Hanataro in the vicinity, Shikai would have sufficed. Unfortunately, with one hand and leg useless, and having to freeze Rukia and insure Hanataro remained out of the way of his own attacks, he had to use Bankai. Hopefully the team of humans from Karakura town will have made a dent in Aizen's forces at home.

[End Chapter]

Hmm, we finally get a different viewpoint, and now you may all ponder just who it is that attacked Ichigo.

Things will begin to heat up soon. Ichi's gonna get swarmed after this one last battle, and where are the other members of his Nakama?

Where has ol' Kenny gotten to anyways?

Review!

P.S: Ichigo will get some abilities from the opponents he eats. Like Nnoitra's super-powered Hierro, and Grimmjow's darts of doom.


	6. Good Guys vs Bad Guys

Hiho!

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu'

"**Hollowfied Ichigo"**

[Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Ichigo growled at his attacker, "You! You should know better than to attack me!"

The Espada shrugged as it forced Ichigo's Shikai down a few more centimeters through brute force, making Ichigo's eyes widen in shock. "Yeah? I'm lucky! I won't get taken down by the likes of you!"

"I sliced your arm off the last time we met! And this time, I'll make sure to do it to your head!" Ichigo's response was swift, and just as promising of death as his blade, which began to glow ominously. "And now, let me show you my power!" A gigantic column of energy surrounded Ichigo as a massive shockwave blew off of the Visored, blasting his attacker backwards and through a pillar.

Ichigo blinked as he took in his new form. That sudden, sharp power increase had to be because of him eating Harribel. He could see his robe extended to a far shorter length than it did before, also, a large amount of the back and chest portions of his robe were missing as well. The Visored blinked rapidly as he could clearly feel a breeze 'round his privates.

'Crap.'

'What else did you expect, from that skimpily clad Espada? A huge train?'

'Sh-shut up Zangetsu. How am I gonna fight like this?'

'I believe you can increase the length of your coverings. Just push reiatsu at them.'

'_Damn King, you got a fiiineeee ass!'_

'Shut it psycho-me'

Ichigo's head snapped up as his danger-sense screamed at him, only to find a massive fist in his face, propelling him backwards. The Espada sneered at Ichigo. "Done daydreaming yet? I need you at your best to kill you so I can glurk."

Zangetsu's tip hovered over the desert sand as Yammy's head slipped smoothly from his shoulders. "Tch. You're a hundred years too slow to beat me."

'_Tell it like it is Sexy King.'_

'I hate you so much right now, you know? So shut up before I ask Zangetsu to bash you over the head.'

'_Oooh, gonna sic your __blade__ on me? Naughty naughty Ichi.'_

'Shut. Up. Before I make you.'

'_Yum yum.'_

'Enough. This has to be one of the singularly most disturbing conversations I have ever had the misfortune to hear.'

'_Fine.'_ Ichigo and Zangetsu could hear Hollow Ichigo's grumbles as he headed further into Ichigo's mind, hoping to find more powers. _'Ruin all my fun.'_

Ichigo turned his mind outwards once more, feeling his reiatsu and how much heavier it was. 'Damn, I can literally _taste_ the reiatsu in the air. Hey, Zangetsu, is it just me, or is your blade crackling?'

'No Ichigo, it isn't just you. The Horse is implementing changes as we speak.'

'Oh, okay. Um, so where do we go next? Cuz I'm kinda tired. Should I eat this one too?'

'May as well, he is an Espada for some reason.'

'Point.'

Ichigo breathed deeply, inhaling Yammy, no longer needing his mask due to the immense amounts of Hollow reiatsu he had consumed. This time Ichigo could actually taste the reiatsu, and it tasted pretty good. He could easily see how it would be addicting to others, but it was only for now, he wouldn't raid Hueco Mundo at night, sucking up Hollows wherever he went.

Ichigo felt the power increase, not as slight as the three Fraccion, but not that big either. Seeing as how he was the weakest Espada, it made sense.

Ichigo called up Spirit Ribbons, found Orihime, Chad, Ishida, Rukia and Renji's and found that they were loosely grouped together. 'Good. Makes it easier on me.' And with that thought, Ichigo's form blurred, and a crater formed in the sand, accompanied by a loud booming noise.

[Las Noches Main Tower, Aizen's Meeting Room]

Aizen stared down at his Shinigami lieutenants, seemingly disinterested and sleepy, but very, very much awake and sharp.

"You were saying Gin? How many Espada have we lost so far?"

Gin's smile shrunk slightly as he reported damning numbers. "Aaroniero sent us all notice of his death. Zommari met his end at Byakuya Kuchiki's hands, and Grimmjow and Nnoitra are gone, vanished. Oddly enough, Harribel released her sword, against your orders Aizen, and destroyed part of the roof of Las Noches. Then she too disappeared."

Aizen did not look particularly ruffled, but inside he was seething. 'This leaves us with Yammy, Szayelaporro, Ulquiorra, Barragan, and Starrk.'

"Notify Ulquiorra, Yammy, and Szayelaporro that their ranks have been elevated. Also, add Gantenbainne to the ranks once more."

Tosen bowed, "Yes, Aizen-sama." And instantly flickered away.

[Szayelaporro's Laboratory]

The scientist cackled as he hunched over the pages and pages of data, sneering as he thought of the wannabe scientist who had owned this lab before.

He shouted at a woman who was methodically setting up odd looking equipment. "Nemu! You foolish girl, aren't you done yet?"

The girl replied in demure tones, "No, Mayuri-sama."

"Then hurry up you idiot girl!" The clown-shaped shinigami turned back to the minor treasure before him.

[Small Pillar]

Orihime hunched behind her shield with Nel as she healed Rukia. Chad, Ishida and Renji held off Ulquiorra as much as they could, the constant barrage of arrows, random but powerful blasts of energy, and slightly uncontrolled flame Hado keeping the Espada away. For now. All present knew that even if Orihime and Rukia joined the fight, it would be a horrifically uneven battle.

Rukia nearly died taking down the 9th, Ishida and Renji nearly died fighting the 8th to a stalemate, and Chad had been cut down in a second by the 5th. All of them knew that none of them stood a chance against the 4th. Until one of the walls were suddenly blown inward.

Renji stared. "What the…?"

Ichigo appeared, Shikai on his shoulder, changed, crackling with energy, shihakusho changed as well, with shorter length and shorter sleeves.

[End Chapter]

Slightly shorter than the last two, but I wanted to get this chapter out.

As you can see, I'm expanding into more than just Ichigo's view point now.

Review!


	7. Ichigo vs Ulquiorra Part 1

Ichigo vs Ulquiorra showdown! Or is it?

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zangetsu'

"**Hollowfied Ichigo"**

[Random Small Pillar, Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Ichigo stared down Ulquiorra, their calm gazes locked. He saw a flicker of surprise in those green orbs as he knew the Cuarta Espada had sensed his vastly increased power levels.

Ichigo smirked as he thought of his new, 'improvements'. From Grimmjow, he had gotten the newly christened Darts of Doom. With a flick of his blade, he could form one and fire it from the tip. Ichigo could also fire a line of them from the edge of his blade, and he could load a Getsuga Tensho into them as well, massively increasing the destructive power. Ichigo theorized that Grimmjow probably could've destroyed a pillar with one dart. Ichigo could destroy a line of ten or more.

From Nnoitra, Ichigo received an incredibly powerful Hierro. And due to the massive amounts of Hollow reiatsu he had consumed, it manifested even when he had no Hollow powers activated. Ichigo also gained the ability to fire Ceros from his tongue, though he doubted he would ever have an occasion to use that. Finally, Ichigo would probably have a pretty nifty High Speed Regeneration if he ever had to rezz.

From Harribel, Ichigo gained the ability to loosely control water, giving him an edge if he ever fought over a river or a sea. His Ceros now could have a much wider blast range, and he could fire them in far faster succession. Zangetsu crackled permanently now with the power to shred skin and tear muscle if he dragged the flat of the blade across someone's body.

And from Yammy he gained the finesse to fire low-grade Balas even without his mask, again a benefit of the sheer amount of Hollow reiatsu consumed, and high-grade and incredibly fast Balas with his mask on. Ichigo wouldn't be able to outrun his Balas unless he used Bankai, but they would still be wicked fast.

Since he ate Grimmjow in his resurrection form, Ichigo had gained small plates on his elbows and shoulders in Bankai with his mask on, that he could fire Darts of Doom from. Eating Harribel had also shortened his shihakusho, compressing his reiatsu still further.

Ichigo's smirk widened as he calmly remarked, "Hey Ulquiorra. How about instead of beating on my nakama, you take on somebody your own size?"

Renji's left eye twitched as he caught the not-so-hidden meaning that he was weak. "Oi! Ichigo! Do you really think you can beat him? He nearly killed you the last time you fought!"

Ichigo's head swiveled to face Renji. His smirk widened even further until it started to resemble the one that Hollow Ichigo always sported. "Heh. Watch and learn Renji. This, is the true power of a Visored." Ichigo raised Zangetsu and with a yell charged a Getsuga Tensho, the reiatsu sparking as it gathered in such a huge concentration, the ground under Ichigo's feet cracked form the pressure.

"HAH! GETSUGA TENSHO!" Ichigo roared as he brought Zangetsu down in Ulquiorra's direction, a gigantic wave of super-charged blue reiatsu soared towards Ulquiorra, whose eyes widened marginally as he perceived the sheer force behind the attack moments before it slammed into his hastily raised zanpakuto, not having needed it when facing Ichigo's friends. The ground cratered under Ulquiorra's feet as the force pushed him back and he fought it back. Eventually he noticed the hairline fractures forming in his blade and with a grunt of effort, shoved the attack to the side, where it careened at the wall, and exploded, taking out much of the wall.

Ulquiorra's head turned back to Ichigo, in time to see the tip of his Zanpakuto swing down and a glowing blue dart launch itself from the tip at high speeds. Not taking any chances, the Espada raised his blade once more, and gaped in blank shock as the dart punched into the edge, imbedding itself in his sword, and then exploded at point blank range.

The Espada was sent skidding out of the smoke cloud. He took one look at his blade holding together just barely and fled for the hole in the wall. He could hear Ichigo yelling behind him. "Hey! Where are you going? Get back here!"

Ichigo flickered after Ulquiorra, never noticing the completely bamboozled faces of his friends as they watched him utterly thrash the 4th Espada.

Ichigo dashed out of the hole that Ulquiorra had disappeared through. He looked around hurriedly, remembering to look up and down, then noticed the fleeing form of the Cuarta Espada flying upwards towards the ceiling of Las Noches. He quickly followed, raising an eyebrow as he watched the Arrancar smash a hole into the dome, and then flying through it.

'_Ma-an! Look at that fineee ass on that guy!'_

'Psycho-me, I'm damn sure I'm straight. Why are you gay? You're not the opposite of me in that too, are you?'

'_Maybeeee.'_ Ichigo could feel the smirk leveled at him inside his head even as he fired off a Bala at the retreating ass, er Arrancar.

Renji and Ishida ran over to the hole in the pillar, just in time to see Ichigo disappear through the hole in the dome of Las Noches that led back out to Hueco Mundo.

"Ishida, what do we do? We can't let him fight Ulquiorra alone! What if the bastard uses his Resurrection?" Renji's impatient voice snapped Ishida out of his musings as the rest of their friends ran up to them.

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but Ichigo nearly shattered Ulquiorra's blade in just Shikai. I'm sure Bankai would be sufficient to equal the 4th's Rezz, and if Ichigo hollowified, that should be enough to kill the bastard, as you so eloquently put it." Ishida's observation made Renji, Rukia, and Orihime's eyes widen, while Chad's expression seemed mildly gobsmacked. Nel gnawed on Ishida's coat, making the Quincy's eye twitch.

[Above the Dome of Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

Ichigo stared up at the changed form of Ulquiorra, who had gained wings and a girly looking dress. Ichigo was frankly, quite unimpressed, but could feel the power difference, and was shocked at the fact that he was now significantly weaker than the Cuarta Espada. Obviously Aizen had not paid much attention when the traitor had assigned ranks to his followers. Ulquiorra was much, much stronger than Harribel once he had rezzed.

"BANKAI!" A pillar of black edged with red energy exploded off of Ichigo as his attire changed to his typical Bankai coat, which was slightly shorter than usual, and sleeveless now, owing to Harribel's additions, allowing his reiatsu to be compressed further.

Ichigo looked up in time to see a green bolt of energy, shaped suspiciously like a classical lightning bolt streak down at him. A soft whisper on the nonexistent wind reached Ichigo's ear as he raised Tensa Zangetsu into a guarding position. "Luz de la Luna."

Ichigo whispered his own attack name as the bolt neared him. "Getsuga Tensho." The bolt slammed into his blade, and he was engulfed in a huge explosion.

[Aizen's Throne Room]

A nameless Arrancar kneeled before Aizen's throne. "Aizen-sama, Szayelaporro and Yammy are both dead." He trembled, sure that his lord would strike him down for his information.

"Pity. What of Barragn, Starrk and Ulquiorra?"

"Barragan and Starrk await your command to move out. As does Gantenbainne. Ulquiorra is keeping the ryoka occupied."

"Good." Aizen motioned at Tosen and Gin, "We move out now."

Gin and Tosen replied in unison, "Hai, Aizen/Aizen-sama."

[End Chapter]

Well, I got this one out pretty quickly.

We're gonna get to the Fake Karakura arc shortly, after two more major fights.

Review!


	8. Ding Dong Ichigo Is Dead

New chapter time!

Oh, and dalulzing? You want a movie? I'll give you a freaking _**EPIC**_. Just not yet. I'll probably flesh out this story a lot more in the future. Keep following it, it should get better as time wears on and I have to worry about school and college less.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

'_Inner Hollow'_

'Zanpakuto'

"**Hollowified"**

[Above the Dome of Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]

A pale cloud of smoke and dust covered the area where Ichigo had stood when Ulquiorra's Luz de la Luna had slammed into his Getsuga Tensho charged blade.

With a gasp, Ichigo re-appeared, more than forty feet to the right of where he had stood. The teen fell to his knees as he choked and gasped, trying in vain to get his composure back. Ulquiorra stood regally on his pillar, the edges chipped and portions of it vaporized from the force of the Espada's Resurrection. The Arrancar coolly raised one eyebrow as he took in the gasping and panting form of his opponent.

"If you cannot withstand that, Kurosaki, you will not be able to stand against this."

And with that ominous declaration, Ulquiorra raised his right hand, and a massive amount of reiatsu began to swirl in front of the tip of his right pointer finger. Ichigo weakly turned his head upwards, taking in the forbidding sight of the Cuarta Espada, charging a Cero, the very air of Hueco Mundo twisting from the force of the charging attack. Ulquiorra sighed softly as the air around him warped inwards, the closer it was to his attack, the greater the distortion.

Ichigo coughed as he shakily levered himself to his knees, eyes already swimming in a field of black. Then, panting still, he pushed himself to his feet, using Tensa Zangetsu as more of a crutch than a sword. With each word that fell from Ichigo's lips as he raised himself, Tensa Zangetsu crackled more as he felt his partner's growing rage. "Don't. Tell. Me. What. I. Can't**. DO!"** The last word was roared at the Espada as Ichigo swept his hand in front of his face, Hollowifying instantly.

A shockwave of pure energy clove a hole in the dome, further destroying the surroundings. The sheer force of Ichigo's Hollowified reiatsu pressed down on Ulquiorra, making his breath hitch slightly as he felt the difference. 'Not as strong as me. Not even close. But more like Nnoitra, than like Grimmjow. Hmm.'

Ichigo's eyes widened as he felt the security of his mask pressed against his face, and bellowed a visceral, primeval, horrifically loud roar at the Espada as the Visored slashed his hand down his blade, and lifted the now bloody sword.

"**GRAN REY CERO!"**

The gigantic purple orb formed near instantly, shining so brightly it was as if a second Sun had been born. Ichigo bellowed harder as he pushed more and more energy into the attack, inflating it larger than even himself.

[Mostly destroyed pillar]

Rukia, Ishida, Renji, Orihime and Chad froze in abject horror as the screaming bellow reached their ears from the hole in the dome of Las Noches. Even Nel froze, then began to suck in mass quantities of air, completely unnoticed as she fed on the reiatsu super-charging the air flowing down from the gap.

Such was the quintet's inattention, they failed to notice Nel beginning to glow brightly as they stood in fear, growing only more frozen as they heard the shriek continue, far beyond what a human voice could hold.

What they could _not_ ignore, however, was the explosion of tightly controlled energy that surrounded Nel, making her body glow even more brightly, and reminding a detached voice in Ishida's head of Pokemon evolving. They spun to face the rapidly growing column of glowing energy.

The ground shook as a low booming noise filled the remnants of the destroyed pillar, shaking more of it loose, and forcing Orihime to release her Santen Kesshun to protect her friends. The five friends gaped at the changed Arrancar, who stood as tall as Ishida, whereas before she barely came up to his knees.

The girl's face brightened as she suddenly spoke, "Ohayo! Minna-san!"

The other five faceplanted as they heard her older, sweetly cheery voice.

"N-Nel, what happened to you?" Ishida's voice shook slightly as he took in the highly revealing new look on the Arrancar.

"Silly Quincy! I've returned to my old form! And now we can all go help Ichigo!"

Then a look of surprise crossed the scarred Arrancar's face as she fell to her knees, shaking from the raw reiatsu she could feel just above the dome of Las Noches.

"He's there, isn't he?"

Rukia answered her, voice pitched lowly so as to reduce stress and provide a calming effect. "Yes, Ichigo is up there. He's fighting the Cuarta Espada, Ulquiorra. And he's most likely-"

At this point, Renji took over, "-gonna die. Don't look at me like that Rukia! Can't you feel the force of that reiatsu?! It's inhuman! There's no way Ichigo can stand against it!" Renji cut off as Rukia grabbed his face and turned it towards the hole.

"Then why aren't you helping him?" Her voice was as ice, befitting one with an ice Zanpakuto. Rukia faced the false sky of Las Noches even as she drew her blade from its sheath. "He's helped us all before. It's time we helped him." Words that were driven straight down her throat as a huge BOOM shook the air, sending her crashing to the ground as all of Las Noches shook from the force of the explosion.

[Above the Dome of Las Noches]

"**GRAN REY CERO!"**

"**CERO OSCURAS!"**

Twin voices thundered as Ichigo and Ulquiorra shot their incredibly powerful attacks at each other with an earth-shattering roar. The bright purple and black edged with green orbs of sheer power collided with each other, making the entire fortress shake from the sheer force of the clash. The spheres of reiatsu swirled together, mixing and trying to overcome the other as their owners watched slightly nervously. Then the Espada and Visored blinked in confusion as the incredibly bright fusion imploded, blowing their hair back and forcing them to anchor themselves lest they be swept away like so much rubble.

As Ichigo gazed at the huge smoke cloud leftover from his Gran Rey Cero clashing with Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras-thingy, he twitched as he realized a fatal flaw in his plan. In smashing his ultimate attack into Ulquiorra's, he had neglected to keep some energy to himself. Ichigo was now almost completely out of reiatsu, and he could vaguely feel Ulquiorra's energy, just beyond the hazy afterimage of the explosion, still burning bright with spiritual power.

'Damn. I'm screwed, aren't I?'

'_Hey King, do you think if you offer up your body, he'll let you live?'_

'There are no ways to describe how useless that suggestion was. Is there anything we can use to get my reiatsu levels back up?'

'Suck up the dome. That should give you enough to move, and prevent you from shifting down to Shikai.'

Ichigo nodded mentally back at the younger version of Zangetsu as Hollow Ichigo sulked in the background. Ichigo then opened his mouth, and began to suck up portions of the roof. There was absolutely no taste, but he could feel a small increase in his power levels.

Ulquiorra felt that he had given the Visored enough time to get his bearings back, and to prepare for his eventual defeat. He calmly began to softly flap his wings, lifting himself, and then flew straight for the cloud of smoke that persisted. Ulquiorra let a small touch of amusement flit across his visage as he burst through the cloud, heading straight for a panicked looking Ichigo, a glowing javelin of reiatsu bursting into existence at his side, who barely managed to raise his flickering sword into a guard position before Ulquiorra's Luz de la Luna would've run him through. The force of the calmly executed attack still blasted the exhausted Visored off of his feet, and made him stare blankly into the slightly amused face of his opponent as he was forced through the air.

"Luz de la Luna. Ichigo Kurosaki, you can no longer stand, how will you fight me?" Ulquiorra threw the teen off him, sending the male crashing to the ground. Said teen scrambled to his feet, scowling fiercely as he stared up at the Arrancar.

"I'll kill you for looking down on me, you bastard." Ichigo inhaled once more, sucking up a massive amount of the roof, replenishing him enough that he could feel his coat lengthen again, quieting the chuckles in his mind. The Visored then swept his blade at the Arrancar, who merely raised an eyebrow, before coughing in surprise as a dart slammed into his midsection. Ulquiorra's back bent slightly from the force of the attack, shock flitting across his face as two more darts crashed into his stomach, sent from Ichigo's now wildly swinging blade.

The Espada quickly used Sonido to move well back, so he could perceive the attacks and avoid them as necessary. His brows crinkled slightly as he frowned at the screaming human, annoyed that he could still be injured in this state.

"Fine then." Ichigo stopped wildly swinging and screaming incoherently as he heard Ulquiorra speak. "If you will not bow to the reality of your situation, then I will _make_ you bow."

Ulquiorra walked a few feet away, and then turned to face Ichigo, before enunciating clearly, so Ichigo could hear the words that spoke of his doom. "Segunda Etapa."

Ichigo's eyes widened as a monstrous wave of reiatsu forced him to his knees, shattering his mask, and cracking the ground around Ulquiorra's feet. A gently swirling cylinder of reiatsu whose sight bellied the sheer force of the transformation surrounded the Espada. Ichigo passed out from the force, before returning to consciousness, just in time to see that he was now in the clutches of Ulquiorra's tail, his nakama screaming at him to wake up as a pulsing Cero Oscuras hovered in front of his chest. Ichigo let loose a silent howl, its original sound swallowed by the explosion of sound that accompanied by the firing of the Cero Oscuras.

Rukia, Renji, Orihime, the newly awakened Nelliel, Chad and Ishida watched as the impossibly powerful attack carved a hole into Ichigo's battered form, blowing a perfect Hollow hole into the teen's chest.

"ICHIGO!" Their combined screams never reached Ichigo over the sound of the Cero Oscuras being fired into his chest. They watched as Ulquiorra flicked his tail, sending Ichigo's pale body flying towards them. Ishida leapt onto his Hirenkyaku, then flew up to Ichigo's free-falling body, before catching it and bringing it down to safety. As he returned to the ground with the now lifeless body of his rival cum friend, he noticed the rage lined faces of his other friends. Ishida's own face crumpled in rage, his reiatsu flaring strongly next to his friends', but utterly dwarfed by the presence merely emanating from the Cuarta Espada.

Ulquiorra stared down at the six friends from up on high, and simply asked one question, "Who's next?"

[End Chapter]

Yay! Ichigo's dead at last!

And now everyone's gone up several levels on the "Ticked Off Royally Meter".

And Aizen is still up to his dastardly deeds!


End file.
